Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1651 to 1675 of 4914 results

1651. The Golden Calf

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

32:1–34:35 · Crisis at Sinai: The Golden Calf - Exodus 32–34 forms an important watershed for understanding God’s relationship to the world. The Creator had sought to redeem, form, and live among the people. To this end God delivered them out of Egypt, brought them to Mt. Sinai by going with them in the fiery cloud, and provided for them in the wilderness. At Sinai God set about forming them into the sort of community originally intended: in trust and fidelity with the Lord, with each other, and with the ...

1652. Paul Reinterprets the Story of Israel

Romans 2:17-29

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul reverses the role that the law played as the stipulation of the old covenant. He argues that the very attempt to obey the law is keeping Israel in bondage. This is because obsession with the Torah derailed Jews from accepting Jesus as the Messiah and from seeing that the law was fulfilled in him and finished at the cross. Understanding the Text Romans 2:17–24, together with 2:25–29, focuses on the twin themes of the law of Moses as the stipulation of the Old Testament covenant and ...

1653. Less Is More

John 1:(1-9) 10-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

I want to share with you a simple biblical message about how to find contentment. So often our lives get out of control because we fall under the spell of a terrible myth. The myth is that more is better — the more we have, achieve, attain, or buy the happier we will be. This myth is no more powerful than during the Christmas season which has just come and gone. We saw all the ads promising utopia if we bought the perfect Christmas present. Many of us bought those presents and still no utopia. How long did ...

1654. A Vision of Beauty and Hope

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1948, a World War II veteran named Earl Shaffer was the first person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. This 2,160-mile hiking trail connects Springer Mountain, Georgia, with Mount Katahdin, Maine. It is billed as the longest hiking-only footpath in the world. Shaffer was restless after the war and he was grieving the death of his best friend. He needed to find some peace, so he set out alone on this challenging adventure. It took him through forests and streams and over mountains. He reached Maine ...

1655. Anybody Listening?

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

William G. Carter

His name was George, and he sat in the back row of the sanctuary on the preacher's right. A permanent scowl was chiseled on his face. His posture announced to all that he was a man not easily pleased. Ushers tip-toed around him. Whenever his name came up in conversation around church hallways, someone would always ask, "Why does a grouch like that keep coming to worship?" No one ever came up with an answer. One thing was certain -- George was particularly hard on preachers. "I have heard hundreds of ...

1656. Not Yet Quitting Time

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

You may remember reading or hearing of the Korean Christian group who predicted that Christ was going to return on October 28, 1992, all Christians would be taken to heaven, and the rest of the world would enter the terrible catastrophes of the end times. Well, we're still here, and unless you count the presidential election which was held a month later as a terrible apocalyptic catastrophe, I don't see that the ordinary catastrophes were much worse than usual. There's nothing new in this miscalculation of ...

1657. Proper 9

Genesis 24:1-67, Romans 8:1-17, Romans 7:7-25, Zechariah 9:9-13, Matthew 11:25-30, Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Freedom from oppression. In the First Lesson (Zechariah 9:9-12), it is freedom from political oppression. In the Second Lesson, it is freedom from our sinful human nature and in the Gospel, we are offered freedom from the oppression of the law and of man-made religious regulations. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 (C) In his old age, Abraham sends his trusted servant back from the land of his origin to secure a wife for his son, Isaac, from his own people. He discovers Rebekah, ...

1658. The Symphony of God

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

This sermon is not for heroes. It is for the hesitant and the timid. This sermon is not for the militant who march in demonstrations of protest. It is for the meek who are afraid to act out their faith in public. This sermon is not for the players on the field who "suitup" and carry the ball; it is for the spectators who sit in the stadium. This sermon is for those who are not leaders, and who never will be. This is a sermon for ordinary people. Particularly, it is for the ordinary people who, because they ...

1659. God Is Into Birds!

Exodus 19:1-25

Sermon

John and I are getting into birds! We work out of the mountains of western North Carolina during the summer months. One of our favorite pastimes, when we are at home, is to watch the birds that come to our deck which overlooks the mountains. There are ruby-throated hummingbirds (sometimes as many as sixteen of them), which come to guzzle the red-colored, sugar-water that I keep in feeders for them under the eave of the house. At another feeder, filled with sunflower seeds, we are visited by the white- ...

1660. Is God Still God?

Isaiah 44:6-23

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it, let him declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any." In the good times of life, it is easy to believe ...

1661. The Unexplainable Reality

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

In more recent times we have become almost nonchalantly accustomed to the sonorous sound of the countdown ... glued to the television screen, we view the drama and hear that even voice charged with vibrancy ... 10, 9, 8 and so on, ending in a crescendo of BLAST OFF! With spectacular power and energized fury, another spacecraft is launched on its incredible journey. With each departure comes a new advance in knowledge and achievement. We have a profound respect for the genius of man and his accomplishments ...

1662. The Man Who Asked For Dinner

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

George Bass

If they had been conducting a seance, they might have been ready for Jesus’ appearance in that secret and secured room. If they had been sitting around a table, hands joined together as one of them (perhaps Peter) mouthed incantations: "Speak to us, Lord! Come to us as you promised that you would," they wouldn’t have been scared out of their wits. But all of a sudden, there he was, standing right among them. No wonder they thought he was a ghost. That was just about the only way that he could come back to ...

1663. The Star Thrower

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

O Star (the fairest one in sight), We grant your loftiness the right To some obscurity of cloud – It will not do to say of night, Since dark is what brings out your light. Some mystery becomes the proud. But to be wholly taciturn In your reserve is not allowed. Say something to us we can learn By heart and when alone repeat. Say something! And it says "I burn." -- Robert Frost, "Choose Something Like A Star" The Star of Bethlehem associated with this holy season was taciturn and mysterious. It was lofty ...

1664. A Misplaced Holy Day

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

John A. Davis mailed a Christmas card to his brother in December 1942. Nearly 55 years later it showed up at a post office in Tinley Park, Illinois. Davis had long ago figured the card, sent from Jackson, Miss., to Maryville, Tenn., got lost. The long-lost card raised eyebrows at the Tinley Park post office, and Davis' family learned about it through a newspaper account. The supervisor had sent the card on to Maryville but got it back when Davis contacted him. "There is a lot of nostalgia in this thing. I' ...

1665. Nothing Is Impossible With God

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

In January of 2002, a hospital in London, England, mistakenly sent letters to over 30 unsuspecting patients informing them that they were pregnant. The hospital's computer system, which normally is used to send form letters telling people that their operations have been postponed, was in the hands of a clerical worker who hit the wrong key. And so, instead of informing patients about a rescheduled procedure, the computer sent identical form letters telling the recipients that they were "great with child." ...

1666. Put To Death The Old; Put On The New

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Last week we talked about our lives as Christians being hidden in Christ with God. Today we pick up the theme again, for the larger theme is what it means to live the new life Christ gives us. Baptism is Paul's reference point for talking about life "hidden with Christ in God." A Christian's baptism is not unlike Jewish circumcision, Paul says. In baptism we are marked as Christians. This is a circumcision made without hands, the circumcision of Christ in which we are "buried with Him in baptism." He then ...

1667. Last Words Are Important

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Last words are important. Let that truth sink in. Last words are important. East Side Baptist Church is a little country church down in Perry County, Mississippi. It is the church in which I was converted under the preaching of Brother Wiley Grissom, a fifth-grade educated pastor who preached the Gospel with power. The church is about 200 yards up the hill from our old home place. Behind it is a cemetery where I’ll be buried someday. Mom and Dad—whom in my adult life I affectionately called, “Mutt” and “Co ...

1668. Don't Fade Out On the Amen and the Hallelujah

Revelation 19:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I begin with a story. Bishop James Baker died in 1969, having lived to be ninety. In all of his years – and even in his last years – he had a zest for life. Even though he was too blind to read during those last years, volunteer readers kept him up on current events. His mind was agile and alert. He had a keen perception and a way of getting at the heart of things – probing their meaning with clear insight. He was the bishop of the Methodist Church who was responsible for founding the Wesley Foundation ...

1669. The 4 LAWS of a Whole Personality

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Is there anyone who at some time hasn't had to suffer through the dozen, lengthy, tongue-twisting, memory-testing verses of one of this season's most annoying carols, "The Twelve Days of Christmas"? I confess. From one Christmas to another I keep forgetting what there were eleven of, or what those six geese were doing. But our consumer culture has forgotten that those twelve days don't start today, on December 12 and go through Christmas Eve day. The twelve days of Christmas start on Jesus' birthday, ...

1670. Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

We have inherited from a long tradition the images that flash across our minds during today's reading of Acts 2:1-21. The church claims Pentecost as its natal date. The birthday of the church is the day on which the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus' frightened and furtive disciples, transforming them into power players and proclaimers of the gospel. Ecclesial tradition envisions Pentecost as a miracle of language. The miracle was not one of ecstatic utterances such as Paul speaks of in Corinthians, but one ...

1671. The Freedom to Interpret

John 8:31-36

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

Reformation Sunday is one of those unique times in the church year when we take a moment to remember a movement that changed the religious landscape forever. It is within this landscape that we find John and his gospel message this day. How does this story of Jesus and Abraham relate to Reformation Sunday? First of all, it is important to see that Jesus' followers would be encouraged by this passage because it places them in the position of seeing that Jesus had faced what they were facing; some members of ...

1672. Exodus and Easter

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is an old story that has made the rounds in the church many, many times, but it’s worth telling again. An eight year old boy was reporting to his folks at Sunday dinner what he had learned at church school that morning. “Boy, was it exciting!” he exclaimed to his parents. “Moses organized all the Hebrews into a resistance group and through careful planning they broke out of Egyptian slavery. They moved as quickly as possible toward Canaan, driving every kind of vehicle available: jeeps, tanks, half- ...

1673. Strong in God’s Name

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Lee Griess

A young man was sent to Spain by his company to work in a new office they were opening there. He accepted the assignment because it would enable him to earn enough money to marry his long-time girlfriend. The plan was to pool their money and, when he returned, put a down payment on a house, and get married. As he bid his sweetheart farewell at the airport, he promised to write her every day and keep in touch. However, as the lonely weeks slowly slipped by, his letters came less and less often and his ...

1674. Better Angels of Our Nature

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is one of those mixed blessings of parenthood. You wake up on a weekend morning and detect the unmistakable singe of burnt toast in the air. There are clanging and banging sounds from the kitchen. Checking out the noise you discover your child busily preparing a “special breakfast” as a surprise for you. Such a simple, sweet gesture touches your heart. But all too soon the fruits of your young one’s labors will touch your stomach as well. Eggshell-crunchy eggs. Pancakes charred on the outside yet ...

1675. Not So With You

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How many of us here this morning were born BC? By “BC” I mean “Before Cell-phones?” The first cell phone was invented in 1973 by Martin Cooper. My kids were born AC, but I was born BC. In a world of 7 billion people, there are now 5 billion cell phone subscriptions. Pretty amazing for something under 40 years old. In the last forty years the cyber-cellular age has changed the way we do business, the way we get our education, the way we socialize. The world has never been so closely connected, and there has ...

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